Ricki Lake Reveals Her ‘Beloved Soulmate’ and Ex-Husband Christian Evans Has Died After Struggle with Bipolar Disorder

In an emotional Instagram and Facebook post on Tuesday, the actress revealed that Evans, who battled bipolar disorder, has passed away.

“It is with a heavy heart that I share that my beloved soulmate, Christian Evans has passed,” Lake, who was married to Evans from 2012-15, began the post. “The world didn’t understand this man, but I did. He succumbed to his life long struggle with bipolar disorder.”

“For anyone who has ever lost a family member or friend to mental illness, my heart goes out to you. I am a greater person for having known him and spent the past 6 and a half years of my life with him,” she continued. “He was a man of love and what mends my broken heart today is knowing that he is finally at peace and his spirit is free.”

She ended the post with, “Rest in peace, my love.”

The couple got engaged in August of 2011 and eloped on April 8 the following year. Lake separated from Evans on Oct. 9, 2014 and filed for divorce a week late later, citing irreconcilable differences. Lake told PEOPLE in 2011 that she began dating Evans, a jewelry designer, during the summer of 2010. At the time, she described him as a “normal guy. We met through my best friend. He’s a nobody but he’s somebody to me. He’s everything to me. We just clicked,” she told PEOPLE in 2012. “It just feels like he was the right one all along.”